Feb 16 - A Tour of the Galley

SANDY SHORE : We enjoyed a wonderful tour of the ship’s galley today and let’s just say that TV’s Chef Gordan Ramsey would be delighted at the cleanliness of the enormous kitchens – the food & beverage staff and management work like a Swiss Clock to serve thousands of meals a day, several times a day, every day of the week.

I am honored to actually be traveling with the man who revolutionized this division of the cruise industry… Donna’s father, Everette Phillips. The man is revered in this industry and in particular, this company. I have the privilege of talking to him everyday on this journey about his 30-plus year career and about his management style… I also am enjoying the rare opportunity to visit with key Carnival employees who have great admiration for Mr. Phillips and some rather vivid recollections of the man who “walked through walls” and is reknowened for his little notebook used to strategically run a ship-shape operation. Side note: He still carries a notebook to this day and despite the fact that he’s retired and I do not now, nor have I ever worked for him, I find the jotting rather motivating and just a tad intimidating.

I guess Donna and I just needed to blow off some steam because when our dining room server Corina invited us to the crew party happening this evening we barely let her get the words out of her mouth before we accepted with an overly enthusiastic, “YES!” Carnival has some of the hardest working staff in the world… imagine what it takes to keep this floating city of demanding passengers feed and happy… a lot! Management rewards their team on occasion with a closed party offering food, music and great socializing. We were very happy to join in and ended up closing the event out at 2am and then wandering down to the Disco with several hearty staff members to squeeze out a little more… then we closed out the night venue at some ridiculous hour.

I enjoyed so many conversations tonight, especially with the ship’s Hotel Director, Duncan Puttock. He was curious as to how I was feeling about such a long journey, so far from home and I told him that I was really panicky about it at first and honestly freaked out… but I felt very strongly that it was important and necessary for me to walk away from my life for nearly two months. There is something here for me in the difference and the unfamiliar. It is time for me to learn how to let go… really, really let go. I wish everyone could walk away from their lives for awhile to find true perspective. ~ss

DONNA KAY PHILLIPS : My father promised that he would give us a tour of the galley personally on this cruise. Today he came through, big time. We not only received an extensive tour but could stop and ask questions along the way.

Basically there is one enormous galley in the center of the ship that serves both levels of both dining rooms, The Black Pearl (midship) and The Gold Pearl (aft) as well as all of the poolside eateries on the Lido Deck including Room Service. The layout is extremely efficient and creates maxium flow for the wait staff. Basically the main cooking is done in the center with serving lines on either side to serve each dining room. All side dishes and desserts are based in the center of each side of the galley, with picks ups from each dining room occuring to the left and right of the center prep area.

The hot items are kept so under a warming hood and the cold items are kept so in a pass through cooler cabinet. All doors are equipped with powerful magnets and all soup pots and moveable items can be locked down to deal with the ship's movements.

There are separate dishwashers for glass and silverwear then there are for plates, pots and trays. All are triple washed at varying high temperatures to fully sanitize them between courses. Dishes are literally washed multiple times in the same mealtime.

The galley is cleaned every night beginning at 10pm. Every hood and surface and floor trap is scoured. All waste is processed on board and reused for either fuel or gray water if possible. There are no trash cans on board as everything is recycled. All bottles, plastics and metal is offloaded in port for recycling and all food is processed on board. There is no room to carry extra water, so All of the ship's water is brought in from the sea, desalinized and purified. It's a model for an energy efficient, self-reliant way of living.

I am very proud of my father and all of the things he has pioneered in this industry. -dkp